Valerie King

Fifth Grade Extravaganza Homework 10/7

Although today was a short day in Target, we did get a lot of experiment practice in! After planting our seeds for our modeled process experiment, we performed our consumer tests. In some instances, our hypotheses were correct, and in others we were SO surprised!

For homework this week, please make sure you have ALL of your materials for your own experiment next week. Think about the problems we had with data collection today and how you will adapt your plan for your own experiment.

When you come to class next week, you will need a typed hypothesis, materials, and procedure list for your experiment. As well, please have a typed data sheet that you will use to collect data. Remember, you need to think about what you are measuring and how you will measure it.

Next week's class is dedicated to setting up and performing these experiments. In order to do this, even though we have already looked at our plans over and over...please give it one last best planning effort.

I can't wait to see all of these cool experiments!

Curriculum Open House Power Point

Parents...

Here is the Power Point we shared at our Open House Curriculum night. Feel free to review it and if you have further questions, don't hesitate to contact me. :)

Download Target curriculum night

Third Grade is Cracking Up (Homework 9/17)

We had a cracking day discovering everything there is to know about codes and ciphers! For homework this next week, every child has a cipher on a green index card that needs to be solved. The ciphers were created by their peers. An easy way to go above and beyond is to create more ciphers for peers (or your teacher) to solve.

We also got to solve two ciphers that deal with our novel, Chasing Vermeer. If these were not completed in class...finish those up also!

Here is the cool link we used to learn all about codes and ciphers. There are really super games, activities, ideas, and of course the directions for creating new codes and ciphers! Enjoy discovering even more than what we used in class.

Cryptokids

Have a super week off. See you in two! :)

3rd Grade Homework 9/10

This week for homework, use a dictionary (either the book or an online resource below) and complete questions 1-9 on our Chasing Vermeer vocabulary thinking sheets. In order to start understanding these HUGE words, you will need to look up the word, think about what it means in kid-friendly language and then APPLY that meaning to the question on the thinking sheet. This will help us with our "I Have...Who Has..." vocabulary practice. We have many chapters of this sort of activity...time to just DO IT! :)

Here are some vocabulary resources online:

Merriam Webster Dictionary

Dictionary Dot Com

Free Dictionary

Yahoo Kids Dictionary 

 

Target Open House

Please join us for our Target Open House and Curriculum Night.

When? September 16th

Where? Media Center at Elementary

Time: 6:00-7:00 pm and 7:00-8:00 pm

Hope to see you then!

3rd Grade Homework~9/3

This week, I want you to find something in your home that YOU think is a work of art. Do not let anyone help you, because really what one person thinks is art, may not be art to another person. Don't focus on things that are already "art" like paintings and drawings and statues. Really look at things differently and find something that you think is art. Then, on the blog or on a piece of a paper, describe the object. We are going to use the clues to try to guess the object.

Here's my object:

1. It is smooth.

2. It is natural.

3. It is shaped like a heart.

4. I can hold it in my hand.

5. It is cold.

Who can guess what my art object is? Remember to post your clues here, or bring them in next week.

Science Extravaganza~Fifth Grade

Today we went over a lot of information regarding our winter Science Extravaganza. The gist of this project is to guide children through the scientific process while investigating a topic of their choosing. We began brainstorming ideas for individual projects today. There is a parent letter that gives an overview to this project as well as a very detailed rubric. The cool thing about this project is that everything will be completed in the classroom. (Of course, some data may need to be collected outside of the classroom depending on the design!) There is a calendar in Tab 2 of the target binder that will guide children into completing relevant tasks for this project.

For next week, the only thing that is due is the brainstormed ideas and the research question. (I think we had put that the hypothesis is also due...but it's not. We need to do some research before hypothesizing!)

Here is a Web site that we looked at in class that has some superbly designed project ideas. I'm encouraging children to work in the 4-7 range for ideas so that we have some engaging projects to work on. No bean sprouts. :)

If you have any questions as we walk through this together, don't hesitate to send them to me via e-mail. The most important home component is to help your child with time management to ensure tasks are being completed on time. As well, when materials are needed in the classroom, we may need some home help to get them here!

This will be a super extravaganza and in the spring, each child will already have a "ready made" project for the Bullard Science Fair.

Here's the Web site to use to browse project ideas:

Science Buddies

Fifth Grade Learns More about Scientific Inquiry

Today we spent time learning about lab safety. You guys were so patient watching that outdated video...at least the information was still relevant. The posters look super and will help us as we start experiments in our "Target Lab."

Today, Mad Scientist King performed a demonstration. (Thank goodness it worked!) We also spoke about variables (independent, dependent, and controlled.) Make sure you understand the difference as it will keep  coming up in future lessons.

Have a great week! Hope everyone enjoyed their sodas. ;)

5th Grade Homework 8/26

Homework this week...

Analayze the crazy science lab safety sheet and find at least 15 things that are going terribly wrong. List them on a separate sheet of paper.

Also...go ahead and finish your quotefall so we can shelve that and start moving through some new logic.

Chasing Vermeer ~ Third Grade Homework 8/27

Today we started reading Chasing Vermeer. In the novel,  Ms. Hussey, Petra and Calder’s teacher have given them an assignment to “write a letter that someone would never forget.” Think creatively about a letter you could write that Mrs. King would never forget…and write that letter. Bring your letter in to share next week and Mrs. King will bring one to share with you, too! Yes! You can use cool paper, pens (but I must be able to read it...no invisible ink.) You can put it in an envelope...whatever you want. The point is to think of something that I will never forget.